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What a scorcher of a day!

The English Montreal School board is contesting the transfer of two of its schools in court. Lawyers for the board filed a motion in Quebec Superior Court on Tuesday seeking an injunction to block the transfers until a hearing can be held on the merits of the case. “He’s making the decision when the decision (to transfer) belongs to us, not just the school board, but the greater (English) community,” said Joe Ortona, the board’s vice-chairperson. “We are not just contesting it because of those two schools, we are contesting it in order to protect our other schools so the minister cannot do this in the future.” Education Minister Jean-François Roberge said last week that he was forced to transfer General Vanier elementary and John Paul 1 junior high to the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île because its schools are bursting at the seams. A spokesperson for Roberge said they’re disappointed, but not surprised, by the EMSB’s decision.

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Minority francophone groups outside Quebec say they are ready to create a common front to help the EMSB keep its schools. Last week, citing a desperate need for class space in its francophone school system, Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge decided to transfer two English-language EMSB schools to the Pointe-de-l’Île school commission. Carol Jolin, head of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario, said he’s ready to demonstrate alongside his English-speaking counterparts to protect English-language schools, even though some are half empty. Robert Melanson, of the Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick, believes that in certain regions, anglophone minorities are as much victims of discrimination when it comes to receiving public services as francophones outside of Quebec. He, too, said he’s ready to support the fight by Quebec anglophones to keep their schools.

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Proposed electoral reforms in Quebec could increase the influence of minority communities in government, according to one researcher. Henry Milner, a member of the board of the Mouvement Démocratie Nouvelle, said the last election was a classic example of how “first past the post” elections can diminish minority votes. The Coalition Avenir Québec looked at their level of support off and on the island and chose to invest its resources in ridings that would pay off electorally outside Montreal. The CAQ won 74 of Quebec’s 125 ridings with 37.8 per cent of the vote. “Now there is really no input into their caucus or cabinet of people who represent the other ridings and so when they pass legislation, when they choose their priorities, they are responding to their electorate,” he said. The province is due to debate electoral reform this fall, with the CAQ government proposing to scrap the existing voting system and replace it with a mixed proportional system similar to Scotland’s.

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Well, the Sebastian Aho optimism was fun while it lasted. Let’s review the latest developments in this saga:

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As you may have noticed, Montreal is in the midst of a heatwave — and it’s expected to last into the weekend. Environment Canada is forecasting a high of 30 for Tuesday, 31 for Wednesday, and 32 on Thursday and Friday while nighttime temperatures will hover between 18 and 22. Relief is expected on Saturday with the arrival of a cold front. Meteorologists define a heat wave as three consecutive days during which the temperature does not fall below 30C and nighttime temperatures remain above 20C. Humidex factors — a measure that takes into account the combined air temperature and humidity — also contribute to the calculation and are expected to jump this week as well. During periods of extreme heat, public health officials recommend that stays outdoors be broken up by several hours of exposure to a cooler environment, that physical activity be limited and water be consumed on a regular basis.

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